Charles Leclerc showed strong irritation after the qualifying session for the Formula 1 Japanese GP. Even after securing a place on the second row of the starting grid with P4, the Ferrari driver harshly criticized the current rules after his final lap in Suzuka.
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The outburst happened over the team radio at the end of the final lap of the session. Leclerc complained about the loss of performance on the straights, despite believing he had been faster in the corners, which further increased his frustration.
He still managed a reaction in the final part of the session and placed his SF-26 right behind Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. During the lap, he matched the pace of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in the first sector, but lost time in the following two sections, also hampered by a small error at the exit of the Spoon curve.
Shortly after crossing the finish line, Leclerc did not hide his dissatisfaction when speaking to his engineer: “Honestly, I can’t stand these rules in qualifying, it’s a joke! I’m faster in the corners, I accelerate earlier, but for God’s sake, I lose everything on the straights!”, the Ferrari driver fired off.
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Despite the blunt criticism, Leclerc highlighted that the loss of speed was not as great as on other recent occasions. Still, the performance on the straights was enough to compromise his final lap in the qualifying session: “I lost a significant amount of speed on the straights. It wasn’t huge, nothing close to what I saw in Shanghai or what I had there, but I still lost some time compared to my lap in Q2, which is very frustrating,” the Monegasque concluded.
Even with the irritation, the result put Leclerc in a competitive position for the race in Suzuka. However, his statements indicate that the Ferrari driver remains concerned about the impact of the current rules on the car’s performance, especially compared to his direct competitors.
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